The Latest: Indonesians puzzled over Trump's widening lead

A staff carries balloons to decorate the venue during a live broadcasting of the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election results at U.S. Ambassador's residence in Tokyo, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
(The Associated Press)

An activist belonging to 'Hindu Sena' or Hindu Army, a local organization beats a drum to celebrate in anticipation of the victory of U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
(The Associated Press)

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his speech during departure ceremonies at Manila's International Airport, Philippines on Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016. Duterte is set to fly to Bangkok to pay his respects to Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
(The Associated Press)

MEXICO CITY – The latest on world reaction to the U.S. election (all times EST):

1:50 a.m.

Indonesians on social media are questioning why Americans have voted in big numbers for billionaire Donald Trump, who many in the world's most populous Muslim country perceive as intolerant and reactionary.

Twitter, Facebook and chatrooms in instant messaging apps are buzzing with speculation about whether Trump would follow through on campaign rhetoric that included a ban on Muslims entering the U.S.

Some people say that under a Trump administration they fear they'll be prevented from visiting relatives and friends who live in America or traveling there as tourists.

About 100,000 Indonesians live in the United States.

President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo says on national television that his government will work with whoever becomes president.

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1:45 a.m.

News of Trump's widening lead hit hard in Cuba, which has spent the last two years negotiating normalization with the United States after more than 50 years of Cold War hostility.

Normalization has set off a tourism boom in Cuba and visits by hundreds of executives from the U.S. and dozens of other nations newly interested in doing business on the island. Trump has promised to reverse Obama's opening with Cuba unless President Raul Castro agrees to more political freedom on the island, a concession considered a virtual impossibility.

Speaking of Cuba's leaders, Communist Party member and noted economist and political scientist Esteban Morales told the Telesur network that "they must be worried because I think this represents a new chapter."

Carlos Alzugaray, a political scientist and retired Cuban diplomat, said a Trump victory could, however, please some hard-liners in the Cuban leadership who worried that Cuba was moving too close to the United States too quickly.

While many Cubans were unaware of the state of the race early Wednesday morning, those watching state-run Telesur or listening to radio updates said they feared that a Trump victory would mean losing the few improvements they had seen in their lives thanks to the post-detente tourism boom.

A couple of Chinese participants at a U.S. Embassy event in Beijing say they'd welcome a Trump presidency, while another says he thinks the Republican candidate projects a flawed image of the United States.

Blogger Wang Yiming says he hopes Trump will win because the Republican Party has been typically more willing to demonstrate American leadership globally, and he hoped a Republican president would do more to encourage freedom of speech in China.

Wang says: "I think America has stagnated and Trump represents justice, the rule of law and personal freedom."

Lou Bin, a 43-year-old academic at a university in Beijing, says he didn't support either candidate but Trump didn't come across as much of a "gentleman." He says: "As president you want someone who represents the country's image."

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1 a.m.

Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says at this stage, it would appear that Donald Trump is most likely to claim the presidency.

Bishop told reporters in Canberra, Australia's capital, that her government is ready to work with whomever the American people, "in their wisdom," choose to be their president.

She says a U.S. presidential election is always a momentous occasion, and in this instance, "it has been a particularly bruising, divisive and hard-fought campaign."

She also says the new administration will face a number of challenges, including in Asia-Pacific, and Australia wants to work constructively with the new administration to ensure the continued presence and leadership of the United States in the region.

She calls the U.S. "our major security ally" and the largest foreign direct investor and the second-largest trading partner.

She says: "The United States is also the guarantor and defender of the rules-based international order that has underpinned so much of our economic and security issues. And interests."

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11:45 p.m.

Watching the results of the U.S. election at a New Zealand bar, 22-year-old student Sarah Pereira says she is looking forward to working as an intern in the U.S. Congress, but dreads the prospect of Donald Trump winning the presidency.

Pereira, a master's student in strategic studies, says she will leave for Washington this weekend after winning a scholarship to work for Democratic Congressman Gregory Meeks.

She predicts the effects of a Trump on international relationships would be "catastrophic."

Pereira commented while attending an event hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Wellington.

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11:20 p.m.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has told an aide that "the competition is closer than expected" in the U.S. election.

Aide Takeo Kawamura tells Japan's Kyodo News service that Abe is following the vote count in his office.

The Japanese government has remained neutral in public statements, but analysts on both sides of the Pacific have talked about a possible change in U.S. policy toward Japan and the rest of Asia if Republican candidate Donald Trump should win.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga is reaffirming his government's commitment to the U.S.-Japan security alliance. He tells reporters that whoever is the next president, the Japan-U.S. alliance will remain the cornerstone of Japan-U.S. diplomacy.

— This item corrects spelling of Takeo.

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11 p.m.

Chinese state media outlets are casting the U.S. election as the embodiment of America's democracy in crisis in contrast to China's perceived stability under authoritarian rule.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency says the campaign has highlighted that, in its words, "the majority of Americans are rebelling against the U.S.'s political class and financial elites."

The official Communist Party newspaper People's Daily says in a commentary that the presidential election reveals an "ill democracy."

On Tuesday, the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV ran man-on-the-street interviews with unidentified American voters in which they expressed disgust with the system and dissatisfaction with both candidates.